Ah, Hell
by paint mouse
Summary: Kathy and Ariel are having a really bad day. This has got some smartass comedy in it and is kind of a tearjerker.REVEWS are very welcome, No flames please. I have a poem for this story, see my profile from pleated
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own lord of the rings. So sad....  
  
Ah, Hell  
  
My Best friend.  
  
Kathy and Ariel were driving back from the bar. Kathy was hammered as usual and Ariel was nicely toasted for the first time. It was Ariel's twenty-first birthday and Kathy had taken her out to get drunk, and experience bar-hopping. Kathy was twenty-five, so she was already familiar with the bar scene.  
  
The air that night was unusually thick, and Ariel, through her blurred vision, noticed that the cab driver was having problems seeing. She moved forward and put her hand on the back of cabby's seat. "Excuse me, sir, can you see through the fog okay?" She was amazed that she was able to get the sentence out without slurring it, when just ten minutes earlier she couldn't tell male from female.  
  
The cab driver nodded and Ariel sat back in her seat. About ten minutes later Ariel and Kathy heard a loud crash. The cab driver swore, "Oh, shit!" They watched as the cars in front of them spun out of control and slammed into one another. Without thinking, the cab driver jerked the wheel to the right and then to the left, trying his best not to collide with four already wrecked cars. Ariel's fingers gripped the seat cushion, and Kathy screamed "Wheeee!" as the cabbie did his best to maneuver out of danger.  
  
Finally the cab driver was able to steer clear of the wreck and continue on his way. Soon after, the cab driver pulled off the road and into a small parking lot. "Okay, here we are ladies! That will be thirty-five even." Ariel went into her purse and pulled out a twenty and two tens (at least she hoped it was), and handed them to the cab drier.  
  
"Keep the rest," she told him, then opened the door and the two inebriated women stumbled to the stairs up to their apartment. Ariel fumbled with the keys for a while, trying to steady her hand while she put the key in the lock. Finally the door opened and the two girls wobbled inside. They struggled to remove their shoes and then went to their rooms and collapsed on their beds, leaving there clothes on.  
  
Kathy was the first to wake; she woke up with a hangover from hell. "Oh shit, I think I drank too much again," She said as she got to her feet with much effort. Ariel woke up moments after Kathy. "Why is it so cold and breezy in here?" She asked as she staggered around, trying to find her friend. Its was about five minutes later that the girls noticed that they were not in their apartment. Kathy and Ariel were standing side by side in an open field. "Okay Kathy, is this another one of your friends' stupid tricks?" Ariel said, assuming that one of their friends had somehow managed to move them out there in the middle of the night.  
  
"Ariel, Bill and Dan would not do this. This is a little to out of their league." She shot back. They just stood there, looking out at the vastness of their surroundings for a few moments. They scanned every direction over and over again to find some sort of civilization, but there was nothing. "Well, at least we didn't change into our pajamas last night," Kathy said, attempting to laugh at the situation they were in. Ariel turned to Kathy with a look of frustration and pointed to their feet. "Yeah, at least we have decent clothes on," she said sarcastically. Kathy looked at their feet and noticed that neither of them had shoes on. Kathy was still wearing both of her socks, but Ariel was curiously only wearing one.  
  
Kathy and Ariel just sat there, staring at the nothingness that they where stuck in. The clouds soon grew dark and the air grew cold. Ariel looked down at her watch. It was still before noon. They could hear thunder off in the distance. "Wonderful, it's going to rain. Nothing like sitting in a freezing cold rain in your socks," Ariel sarcastically commented. A short time later a few drops began to fall. As soon as they looked up at the sky, as if someone was playing a cruel joke on them, buckets of rain immediately fell onto there faces. "Boy, this is nice," Kathy said while turning and grinning at Ariel. Ariel just glared at her friend and started walking off. "Come on we have to find some place to stay." Ariel said as she sped up her pace. 


	2. No!

Chapter 2

No!

Kathy and Ariel walked for close to three hours in the cold, drenching rain. They did not know how far they walked, only that they had been walking all afternoon and still there was no sign of civilization. By this time both had lost their socks, and their feet were covered in mud, leaves and grass. The rain finally started to lighten up. Soon they heard the sounds of metal crashing. Hoping to find someone to help them they ran until there feet gave out. They collapse on the top of a small hill and looked over the lands in front of them to see what was making the noise. There in the middle of the field was a small group of people. Three men. Kathy laughed as she saw that they where fighting with medieval weapons. "Hey, I bet there practicing for the Renaissance Fair!" Kathy said while standing up. She helped Ariel to her feet and they began down the hill. The two stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a second small group of weird-looking men come towards the group of sword fighting men.

These men where different looking, all hunched over and really dirty looking, like trolls. The two groups met and were soon engaged in an all-out battle.  
The two girls watched as the groups fought. They noticed that one of the men was off to the side, shooting the other group with arrows. He was fast, really fast, and very accurate; every time he shot an arrow, it struck its target. Kathy and Ariel couldn't believe what they were seeing. There was also a short man fighting with an ax. Despite his size, he was quite good. Then there was a tall man swinging a sword. Left, right, duck- no matter where the troll-like adversaries came from, he was ready for it and was able to counteract their moves. Soon the battle was over, the three men victorious. Kathy and Ariel looked at each other and decided that they probably shouldn't disturb the fighters with their problem of being lost. After all, the last group of people to disturb them were killed in less then five minutes, so the girls slowly turned and walked back up the hill.

They hadn't gotten far when an arrow came form behind them and sank to the ground just a foot from Ariel's side. "Oh, shit. Umm...... I think we should run," Kathy said while staring at the look of terror on Ariel's face. Both girls took off running, although they didn't know where to go. They could hear the men calling after them to stop but there was no way they were going to obey. They hadn't gone too far when they ran into another small group of the weird-looking men. "Geez! Look at them, they're so ugly!" Kathy said. The weird-looking men advanced on the two girls and the girls immediately took off in a different direction from the two approaching groups. They could hear the fighting going on behind them between the two groups. Kathy suddenly collapsed on the ground, moaning, " I can't! I'm too tired! Maybe they'll kill each other?" She suggested hopefully.  
"Maybe, but what were those things, and where the hell are we now?!" Ariel said, trying to assess the situation. A few seconds later, Kathy heard the sound of someone running their way. She shot up from where she was sitting and pulled Ariel up with her and began running again. In midstride Ariel fell to her knees. Kathy stopped and looked back towards her friend.

There was one of the weird-looking man not far from them; he was just staring at them with a look of enjoyment on his face. Kathy looked back at her friend and noticed a growing puddle of blood on the ground underneath her. Then Kathy noticed the arrow through Ariel's back and protruding from her chest. Ariel was just sitting there on her knees with a look of pure fear and pain in her eyes. Ariel looked down at the arrow sticking out from her chest. The tip of the arrow was dripping with blood and Ariel could feel her life slipping away. Kathy knelt down beside her friend and tears filled her eyes. "Oh no, Ariel..." Was all Kathy could get out. Ariel just sat there, staring off in the distance. A small trickle of blood began to run out of her mouth. The color left her face and Ariel slowly gasped for air. Kathy looked up to see the weird- looking man standing over them with another arrow notched in his bow.  
Kathy prepared herself for the worst as the man took aim. As she sat there next to her friend she thought back on how horribly wrong this was. But her thoughts were interrupted by the cries from the archer and a mind- numbing pain in her side. She opened her eyes to see the archer was lying dead on the ground next to her with an arrow through his neck; the arrow he had shot had missed its original target, her heart, and had instead struck her in the side. Not caring what happened, she looked back over at Ariel, who was now lying on her side on the ground. "Oh Ariel, how could this have happened? I'm so sorry." Kathy said as a tear fell from her eyes.  
Ariel looked up at her friend and put her blood soaked hand onto Kathy's, whispering, "It's okay, Kathy. I'm not in any pain anymore. Please just don't let them get you." Ariel said, sounding short of breath. Kathy held her friend's hand close; she couldn't believe this was happening. Rage filled her. Kathy heard the sound of more men running. Before she could think, she grabbed the bow from the dead archer and notched another arrow. There was no way she was going to go without a fight, she thought to herself. "It's not my time, not like this." As soon as she saw the three men running over the hill and towards her she released the arrow. It was a good thing she had a bow of her own back home and knew how to shoot an arrow. She had aimed for the archer she had seen earlier, and the arrow would have hit him, had he not quickly maneuvered. Swiftly she pulled the arrow out of the dead archer's neck and notched it. This time she aimed for the short one. She released the arrow and it too would have hit its target if it weren't for the archer pushing the short man out of the way.

Kathy dropped to her knees and prepared herself once again for the worst. Thinking quickly, she looked down at the arrow still in her side. The arrow wasn't in too deep, so in one quick movement she pulled out the arrow and notched it. What a sight, she thought to herself. She could only imagine what she looked like, holding a single-string bow with a bloodsoaked (her blood, no less) arrow notched in it, struggling to see through her matted hair that had fallen into her eyes. She took two deep breaths and prepared to release the arrow. This time she aimed for the tall man and was hoping that the archer would once again interfere. She released the arrow, and just as she had anticipated, the archer went to move his friend out of the way. Expecting this movement, Kathy had aimed slightly to the right instead of directly at the tall man. She had hit her target.


	3. She's a witch

She's a witch

"Damn!" She said as she watched the archer look at his arm. The arrow only grazed him. It wasn't even enough to slow him down. She crawled over to her friend who was lying motionless on the groun. She looked at the arrow through Ariel's back and then placed a hand on it. Tears ran down her cheek; she couldn't do it, she couldn't bring herself to pull the arrow out. She knew that the arrow was the last weapon she had to use, but she still couldn't do it. She pulled her friend into her arms and rested her head on Ariel's. Ariel was limp in her arms, her head laid back and her arms hung loosely at her side. The three men ran towards the two girls but stopped short a few feet from where they were sitting.

Kathy looked up at them with tears running down her mud-streaked and blood-soaked face. "What are you waiting for?! Go ahead, kill me!! Get it over with!!" She screamed over and over again. The tall man and the archer walked over to the girls. The tall man bent down to place two fingers on the fallen girl's neck, but before he could touch her, Kathy quickly pulled Ariel away. The man looked up at the archer and then back at the girls. "There is no need to fear us, young one, we will not hurt you," the man said. Kathy ignored his offer and only tightened her grip on her friend.  
The man looked up at the archer and said something she could not understand. Then the archer moved closer, knelt down beside Kathy and looked intensely at her friend. Within seconds the archer stood up and then shook his head. Kathy didn't have to know what he meant; she already knew that her friend was gone. Fear and exhaustion clouded her mind and the world around her began to spin and grow dark. "How...how could this have happened?" She said over and over again in her mind, till the words ran together and Kathy felt sick.

She suddenly got up and ran to the nearest bush. There she collapsed on the ground and began vomiting until her stomach went numb. She stood up and then looked at the three men staring at her. She suddenly felt faint again. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and the pain took over "Oh, shit," Was all she could get out before she went unconscious and fell to the ground.  
Kathy woke up feeling horrible. Her head was spinning and her side was killing her. Suddenly remembering what had happened, she shot up, screaming for Ariel. The tall man walked up to her. "Please, you are injured. You must sit back down." He said while placing a hand on her shoulder. Kathy took a step back, not wanting him to touch her "No, I'm not doing anything until someone tells me what's going on here and where my friend is!!" Kathy yelled. The tall man took a step back to give the young girl space. "Please sit and I will explain what I know to you." He said while sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of her. Kathy took a few more steps back and then sat on the ground. It caused her pain to move like that but she did her best to brush it off.

"I'm sorry to say that your friend did not survive the attack from the orcs. She was fatally wounded and there was nothing Legolas nor I could do for her. When you are feeling better, perhaps Legolas or myself could show you where she was laid to rest." Kathy could feel the tears spilling over from her eyes; she still couldn't believe that Ariel was dead. Just like that, her best friend all her life, her only family, was now gone. "W- w-where am I?" Was all she could get out between sobs. "You are in open planes out side Rohon," The man replied as he watched the girl intently. "Rohon? Where is that? Somewhere in LA?" The man looked at her with complete confusion. "I do not know where this 'LA' is, but Rohon lies in the lands of Middle Earth." Kathy straightened her back and looked the man in the eyes. "You're telling me I'm not in America anymore...not even on Earth?" The tall man tilted his head and then gave a steady, "No, I don't think so."

Kathy slumped back down and then started to mumble something. The man looked at how lost the girl seemed to be. "What is your name?" He asked, trying to help ease the tension. Kathy looked up at him and then at the two men standing off in the distance. "Kathy." She said while wiping a sleeve across her face. "I am called Strider, or Aragorn. The dwarf over there is Gimli and the elf is Legolas." Kathy looked at all of them with confused red and puffy eyes. 'Elf? Dwarf? You have got to be kidding me,' She thought while putting a hand on her now throbbing side. Legolas and Gimli approached Kathy to introduce themselves. Kathy then yawned and Gimli raised his ax at what he saw. "The lass is a witch!!"


	4. I'm alone

Chapter 4

Im alone

Aragorn looked at Gimli in amazement at his stupidity. "Gimli, can you not see she is frightened enough? Put your ax down," Aragorn said while gesturing for the dwarf to lower his weapon. Kathy was now terrified. She had no idea why he would call her a witch. She slowly brought her knees to her chest and began to rock. "She is a witch, I tell you! I have never seen anyone who can carry metal in their mouth!" Aragorn and Legolas turned to look at Kathy. "Lady Kathy, what is this metal Gimli is speaking about?" Aragon asked while sitting back down on the ground in front of her. "Oh this," She said while sticking out her tongue. The three men went silent as they gazed upon the silver barbell she had through her tongue. "That's just my tongue ring." The three men were silent until Legolas finally asked, "Did it not hurt to have a piece of metal rammed through your tongue?" Kathy let a small laugh escape before answering, "Not really. My tongue was sore after I had it done, but not for too long." The three men looked at each other in amazement. They couldn't believe that someone would do this to themselves, voluntarily, no less. Kathy decided to make matters worse by sticking out her tongue and then moving the barbell up and down through the hole.

The three men were astonished. "Your people like doing this to themselves?" Legolas asked. He was obviously intrigued. "Not everyone likes it, but there are a lot of people that love to get piercings, although not everyone has the same thing pierced." Once more the three men were astonished. "You mean you can do that to more than your tongue?" Aragorn asked, wide-eyed. Kathy looked at the three men who were hanging onto her every word. "Yeah, you can pierce everything, from your ears to your..." Kathy's words trailed off as she lowered her view. All three men knew exactly what she was talking about and they all swallowed hard. Kathy let out a small laugh and then gripped her side. "Ouch," She said while looking at her bandaged side. The bandage was clean, but she could see where the blood was starting to soak through.  
Aragon sat up. "It is getting late. Lady Kathy needs to get some sleep. She has had a long hard day and needs to rest." Kathy looked at Aragorn and was ready to protest when he added, "We will do our best to answer any questions you may have tomorrow, but first you must sleep."

Kathy lay back down on the small blanket and looked up at the stars. She still didn't know anything about this Middle Earth, or how she had come, although she didn't much care any more. She had nothing to return home to... She blinked back tears that began to form in her eyes. She couldn't help but see the reality of Ariel. "She is gone. She was there one minute and then gone the next. Why did she have to go through so much pain?" Kathy kept thinking these things over and over again in her head; the more she thought about them, the faster the tear fell.  
Everyone in the camp could hear Kathy crying that night, and everyone wanted to go and comfort her, but they each knew that she was in a lot of pain, and that she was going to need some time to herself.


	5. Ariel

Note!!!! Sorry about the long wait!!!!!! My Internet went out and im still fighting with the company to get it back.. SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 5

Ariel

Kathy woke up sometime in mid-afternoon. She slowly turned over and then sat up. She lifted her shirt and looked down at her side to see just how bad the damage was. Much to her surprise, there wasn't any pain, although by the look of the wound she knew that there should be lots of pain. She looked around to see only the dwarf at the small campground. Slowly she stood up and walked over towards him. When she was about fifteen feet from him she stopped. "Master Gimli?" She said, trying to keep her distance. "Oh, Lassie, you are awake! Aragorn and Legolas will be most pleased to see that you are doing better! And please, no need for the 'Master', just Gimli." He said in a cheerier voice. Kathy nodded her head and turned to walk back over to her blanket. "Lady Kathy, is there something you wanted to ask me?" Gimli said while trying to catch up to her. Kathy turned and watched him approach. She backed away a bit and then asked, "Where is the elf and Aragorn?" Gimli thought for a second and then pointed behind her. Kathy turned to see Aragorn and Legolas walking into camp. Aragorn had a deer over one shoulder and Legolas had his bow in one hand.

Kathy watched as they walked up to her. Both of them stopped a few feet from her and set the deer by the fire. "Lady Kathy, how are you faring today?" Aragorn said as he watched Legolas pull an arrow out of the deer's neck. "I'm okay. Well, as okay as one can be after..." Her words trailed off and she could feel tears forming in her eyes. Legolas could since that she was still greatly grieving, which was to be expected. "Lady Kathy, would you like me to show you where your friend was laid to rest?" Kathy looked up at Legolas, and then back at the ground. She followed him as he walked into the woods.

They came into a small clearing. The trees were tall and grew thick around the clearing, all covered with a beautiful green moss. The ground had patches of lilies scattered about. Legolas pointed to a line of large rocks that circled freshly dug earth. At the head of the rocks was a very large tree. This tree had no moss on it but a vine with beautiful purple flowers wound around its trunk. There was a spot in the tree where the vines and bark had been cut away. Kathy walked up to the grave and knelt down on the ground. As she started to cry, Legolas started to walk way to give her time, but as he was leaving he heard Kathy ask, "What does it say?" Legolas turned and saw her pointing to tree where the bark had been carved away.

He walked over to the tree and placed a hand over the markings that were carved deep into the bark. "Its elfish. In your tongue it says, 'Here rests , slain in battle, before she could see the new world before her. May her soul watch over the friend she left behind." Kathy began to cry. She looked up at Legolas with tears running down her cheeks. "It's beautiful, did you do it?"

"Yes, although I did not know her name, so I was unable to carve it in." Legolas said as he pulled a small dagger from the quiver of arrows still on his back. "Ariel. Her name is...was...Ariel..." Kathy tried to smile as she remembered her friend. "It was her birthday three days ago. She turned twenty-one...." Kathy trailed off and she thought back to that night. She watched as Legolas carved Ariel's name into the tree, and then read it again. "Hear rests Ariel, slain in battle, before she could see the new world before her. May her soul watch over the friend she left behind."

Kathy look down at the grave and said a small prayer. She then looked up at Legolas. "Why would you do all of this? You don't even know me and I tried to kill you and your companions."

Legolas walked over next to her and bent down, careful to keep his distance though. "The only reason you tried to kill my friends and me was because you were scared. You didn't know where you were and what was going on. You then saw your friend slain right in front of you. You were scared and only trying to defend yourself." He said while smiling at her.

"But why would you help me like this, why bury her?" Kathy asked while looking back at her friend's grave. "Friends are the most sacred thing a person can have in their life, and it is not right to just leave them where they died. Even though we did not know her, it was our place to lay her to rest. You are new to this world; it wouldn't be right of us to leave you in the middle of a place you didn't know, angered and grieving. You are alone now and will be for a long time, but over time you will start to trust and make new friends, and have a place to call home." Legolas said as he stood up and then helped Kathy off the ground. "But I have nowhere to go. What will I do?" Kathy said as she wiped her face off with her sleeve. "Until you are settled in this world you are more than welcome to travel with my companions and me. We are headed back to Merkwood."

Kathy looked up at Legolas and then nodded her head. "I guess I have no choice really." Legolas smiled. "It is okay to be scared, but the journey is almost over and there will be nothing for you to fear in Merkwood. It is my home and the elves there will not harm you." Legolas added as they walked back to camp.


	6. Solitude, and a bow

Chapter six

Solitude, and a bow

Over the next few days Kathy kept to herself. She slept off to the side of the camp and go for early morning walks by herself. She quiet frequently walked to Ariel's grave and placed flowers on it; she would sit down next to the grave and talked to the ground as if Ariel was really there listening. Kathy knew that she wasn't, but the pain of her loss was still to close and she wasn't ready to let go completely.

About two weeks after her arrival in Middle Earth, Aragorn decided to go and seek out Kathy. He found her sitting next to the tree and the head of Ariel's grave. She was tracing over the elvish words in the tree with her finger.

"Lady Kathy, I thought I should inform you that we will be leaving in two days for Merkwood. Legolas tells me that you will be joining us on the journey." Kathy stood up and walked towards Aragorn. Once more stopped a good distance from him and then looked at him. "I have nowhere to go, no one to trust, and no family to go home to. As long as I am not a burden to you, then yes, I would like to join you." She said as she turned her gaze to the ground. Aragorn took two steps forward and knelt down on one knee. "Lady Kathy, Legolas, Gimli and I will be here for you to trust when you are ready. I assure you, you will not be a burden. If anything, you will bring conversation to the group." Kathy looked up at him and smiled. She then started back towards camp. As she passed Aragorn, he added, "Tomorrow Legolas and I will be testing your skills, so that you may defend yourself if there is ever the need." Kathy turned her head and nodded, then proceeded to go back to camp.

Kathy was the first up the next morning. She slowly got up and walked around the camp. She spied Legolas' bow next to the tree he was sleeping under. She decided to go see just how bad her aim was, so she picked up the bow and arrows and walked off.

She had been out practicing for an hour when Legolas and Aragorn found her. They stood behind her, out of her view, watching. They watched as she notched an arrow and then took her stance, aiming and then firing. The arrow lodged itself to the tree she had targeted. Kathy then notched another arrow and took aim. She released it and this arrow landed less than an inch from her first arrow. She continued this process until she had fired six more arrows. She then slung the bow around her back and walked up to the tree. All of the arrows were dead center and within an inch from one another.

"You are very good at that." She heard a voice call from behind her. Quickly she turned to see Aragorn and Legolas standing there. They both came up to the tree and studied the arrangement of the arrows. "It is good to know that you know how to handle a bow. Mastering a bow like that is a true skill." Legolas said as he pulled the arrows out of the tree. Kathy had taken a few steps back for comfort, then replied, "Back home I use to go hunting with my compound bow. For the better part of my life I have used a bow, although I have never used a single-string bow before. It was hard to get used to the aiming." Legolas looked at her with a confused expression on his face. "What is a compound bow?"

Kathy smiled. Finally there was something she could talk to them about. "A compound bow is a very powerful bow. It has a single string that the arrow notches to, but there are two more strings that work with a pulley. The bow I had is a fifty-pound 'BEAR' bow. What that means is that when I notch an arrow and pull back the string, I'm putting fifty pounds of force behind my arrow. That is where the pulley comes in. The pulley helps to keep the weight of the bow from over powering me while I'm holding the string back. When I release the arrow, the weight of the bow takes over and sends the arrow farther and faster, and sends it to the target with a greater force than a regular bow." Kathy took a breath and added "All in all, it is a really cool bow. I miss it." She then smiled and quickly took an arrow from Legolas' hand, notching it to the bow and taking aim. Once again she fired, and the arrow landed in the center of the target. On another tree. "This bow of yours sounds like a mighty weapon. It is good that you have mastered it." Legolas said.

"Well, we know that you are skilled with a bow, so let's see if you can handle a sword." Aragorn suggested and handed Kathy a small, light-weight sword and then unsheathed his. Thinking back to all the moves she has seen in sword fighting movies, she decided to take what she saw on screen and apply it. Aragorn came at her hard. She raised her sword and met his in the air. He put all of his weight on his sward and forced Kathy to the ground. She quickly rolled out from underneath him and kicked him in the back, causing Aragorn to stumble forward. She quickly held up the sword to block another blow. The power behind his attack sent shock waves through her sword and she dropped it. Aragorn quickly knocked her feet from out from under her and brought his sword to her throat. Thinking back to another movie, she raised her foot and planted it on Aragorn's knee cap, causing him to collapse on the ground. She quickly rolled towards her sword and got up. She was about to maneuver into a kill position when a hand grabbed her from behind and put a dagger to her throat. Kathy stopped dead in her tracks. Aragorn was slowly getting up while rubbing his knee. "You should always look out for the second person," Legolas said as he released Kathy.

Aragorn walked up to Kathy and nodded his head, "Very good, I now know that you can defend yourself if the time ever occurs that you should have to." Kathy looked at them and then handed Aragorn the sword. "You keep it, you might need it later." Kathy gave him enthusiastic thanks and then headed with them back toward camp to talk with Gimli.

"Ah, Lady Kathy, I was just going to go find you, I have a question to ask you." Gimli said as Kathy walked back into camp.

"Well I have a question that is if you don't mind, I was wondering how old you where?" Gimli said as he sate down on a fallen log.

Kathy stood there she was kind of shocked that he would ask her age, but she really didn't care. "I am 25" She said with a smile on her face.

"You are older that I thought you where, I assumed you where not even twenty, forgive me." Gimli said.

"There is no need for forgiveness, I used to get that all the time, and it's because of the way I look." Kathy said as she took a seat, but she sate in the ground in front of Gimli. Gemli looked Kathy over, she was right it was her appearance. She was short, maybe five feet tall, she had long blond hair that was tangled and matted, her face was young looking, she did not have the face of someone in there mid twenties.

Kathy smiled at Gimli and then excused her self and walked back to her blanket.


	7. Jurrny

Chapter 7

Kathy had kept to herself all of the next day. That night she skipped dinner and had turned into bed early. She was scared about what was going to happen on their jury. She remembered Legolas telling her that they were only a few days from Mirkwood, and she was curious about what would happen to her once they got there. She was scared that she would be left alone.

Legolas woke her up early the next morning. Kathy sat up and saw Legolas squatting right next to her, whispering, "Lady Kathy, it is time to pack up and leave. I would like to check your wound before we go." Kathy stood up and lifted up her shirt. Legolas reached out to touch the wound but Kathy pulled away. "Lady Kathy, it is ok. I won't hurt you." Legolas said as he moved closer. The wound was healing nicely; there was hardly any bleeding from it and the skin was already starting to heal. The skin around the wound was purple and black; this was because she had ripped the arrow out improperly.

"It appears to be healing nicely. You should be able to ride with us will little pain." He said while pulling her shirt down. Kathy smiled and took a step back from him.

Legolas nodded and walked back to pack up his belongings. Kathy picked up her blanket and walked over to Aragorn. "Aragorn, in this Mirkwood, will I be able to buy some shoes?" Kathy asked as she pointed to her still-bare feet.

Aragorn grinned and nodded yes. He then took the blanket from Kathy and placed it on the back of his horse. "We will also be able to get you some new clothing," he said as he hopped onto the horse and then put a hand out for Kathy. She reluctantly took his hand and was lifted up. Aragorn place Kathy behind him and walked his horse over to where Legolas was helping Gimli onto the back of his horse.

Both groups then nudged their horses and went on their way. Kathy kept to herself for most of the trip, occasionally talking with Gimli about his people. For the most part she was taking in the beauty around her. Even though this land was new to her, it was still so breathtaking and she knew there was no way anyone could get tired of looking at it.

They where approaching the final leg of the journey when Aragon nudged Kathy awake. She opened her eyes and looked over Aragorn's shoulder and the horse's head to see a large set of gates.

Kathy looked over at Legolas who was sporting a large grin and appeared to be happy he was home. They walked through the city until they came to a castle. Legolas led them inside. After what seemed like an eternity to Kathy, Legolas finally turned to her and explained that she would be staying with him until she got settled in a place of her own. Kathy was reluctant to accept, but because she had nowhere else to go she nodded. She wasn't sure if that was such a good idea, but she kept her thoughts to herself and followed Legolas to a room at the end of a rather long hallway.

"This is your room," he said as he opened the door. Kathy walked inside and gazed at the beautiful room. It was huge, even bigger than her apartment was. She had a very large bed that was big enough for three full-grown men to sleep in comfortably and her own bathroom. Kathy turned to Legolas and thanked him for his generosity and then headed to bed.


	8. Time to go, Time to learn

Time to go, time to learn

Time passed

Kathy lived in the castle with Legolas and his family for close to three months. Aragorn had only stayed for a month and Gimli had returned home after two weeks. Over the three months she had become closer to Legolas and the people she stayed with. She had learned to speak some elvish, also. Kathy was no longer afraid of Legolas and did not step back when he approached her.

However, Kathy soon began to feel like a burden, so she made a decision.

It was a beautiful spring morning when Kathy woke up. The sun filled her room with a warm pink glow and a mild breeze drifted through the open window. Slowly she got up and went to pack her things. Taking one last look at the place she had learned to called home, she then left the room and walked down the hallway. On her way out she met up with Legolas at the stables, where he had packed up a horse for her. He helped her up onto the horse and made sure she had all the supplies she would need.

"Lady Kathy, you do not have to go if you do not want to. You are more than welcome here." He said as he looked up at her.

Kathy smiled and looked at him. "It's not that I feel forced to go, it's that I want to. This world is still new to me, and I wish to see it. If I'm going to live here, then I need to know what is around me. I've always wanted to travel and now I have the chance." With that said, Kathy gave Legolas a warm smile and rode off.

Three years passed.

Kathy enjoyed riding across the open lands, going from village to village. At every village that she visited, she would stay for a month or two, learn the ways, food, lifestyle and get to know the people that lived there. She would stop at Ariel's grave occasionally and update her on what she had been doing and how much she missed her. Kathy was finally starting to get used to the world. She had made lots of new friend and learned many new things.

When she visited a small town called Brie, she learned of a dark malice growing an army in a place called Mordor. Kathy didn't think anything of it at first, and soon left Brie. Shortly thereafter she came to another small village where she stayed for three weeks. There she learned about a group of people traveling to Mordor to destroy a ring and defeat the dark malice. From then on, at every town and village Kathy passed through, she learned more of this group of men and their quest. She learned that they were called the Fellowship and that the group was comprised of two men, a dwarf, an elf, four hobbits, and a wizard. She learned that the ring was evil and all-powerful; only the dark lord could wield it. Although many would try, all would fail. It wasn't until she came to Rivendale almost five months later that she learned the names of the members of the men in the Fellowship: Frodo, the ringbearer; Sam, his gardener; Pippin and Merry, the tagalong friends; Borimear, a man consumed with power; Gandalf the wizard; and the smarter ones of the group, her dear friends, Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli. They had set out on the mission to help save Middle Earth, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives. After Kathy learned of her friends whereabouts, she couldn't help but miss them and wonder how they were.

Close to a year since she heard about the Fellowship, Kathy was now headed to Rohon. Upon her arrival she found out that all of Rohon had gone to help Gondor in battle. Kathy, determined to help her friends, rode towards Gondor to join in the effort.

She had joined with the army as they were marching to war. It was there that she learned that her friends had gone into the mountains only three days earlier in search of a unnon partner in war..

Kathy prayed that she would soon see them, but until then she would prepare for battle. Since she had arrived in Middle Earth, Kathy had gained quite a talent in sword fighting and become almost as good as Legolas with her bow.

Kathy was given armor. Her sword sharpened and her quiver filled with arrows, she sat high on her horse as she and the rest of the army galloped down the hill and into battle. That where change the face of Middle Earth for ever.

Only a few more chapters left!!!!


	9. War

Chapter 9

War

Kathy rode hard into battle, swinging her blade at anything that came near her. She looked to her right and saw that the rider next to her was carrying a small man, no, a hobbit. She thought to herself, "Could this little hobbit be one of the four from the Fellowship? it has to be one!" Kathy then looked at the rider and saw that he was in fact a she. Kathy raised her sword and struck down an Orc that was coming up behind the female rider. The hobbit and woman looked over and acknowledged Kathy's help, then rode further into battle. Kathy was pulling her sword out from the Orcs back when her horse threw her to the ground, causing her to drop her sword and rolled a few feet from it. Kathy bolted up from the ground and quickly grabbed her bow from her back and started to launch arrows. She found her way to a spear she saw lying on the ground a few feet away. She was about to pick it up when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, she cried out in pain for a split second.

Kathy quickly bent down, ignoring the pain, and picked up the spear. She turned and launched it at an Orc standing behind her. She then looked down to see an arrowhead sticking out of her shoulder. Kathy quickly reached back and broke the shaft of the arrow off and continued to fight, ignoring the pain. She didn't get far when she was approached by an Oriki; he drew his sword and charged at Kathy. She quickly rolled out of the way and pick up the nearest weapon she could find. She took a sword in her hand and swiftly raised it in the air to meet the Oriki's sword as it came down at her hard. The two battled on for what seemed like hours, not paying attention to the war raging around them. Kathy was loosing the fight; she had taken a blow after blow, one to her right thigh and she had also been nicked in the side of her neck. She was on her knees, her head facing the ground, Kathy kneeled there breathing heavy watching as the blood dripped off the ends of her matted hair, she could feel the sweat rolling down the sides of her face and neck thought the open wounds that covered her body, Kathy sat there slowly breathing in and out wondering witch breath would be her last, she was awaiting her death, awaiting the killing blow from the Oriki, she looked up just in time too see the sword fall towards her and then the Oriki fell to the ground with a arrow through its head his sword fell just inches from Kathy. She quickly stood up and snatched her sword from the ground.

Kathy scanned the area for her savior but could not see where the arrow had come from but she recognized the feathers, the arrow that have saved her life belonged to an elf, no doubt about it. As she scanned the area for an elf she saw the woman and the hobbit battling a man in black, Kathy quickly ran towards the two the woman battling the he man in back looked like she was quickly loosing the battle.

Legolas watched from the top of the elephant as Kathy took off towards the ring wraith. He quickly shot two arrows into the head of the giant beast and added an other kill to the count. Kathy got to the woman just as she had slain the man in black, and began to tend to the little hobbit lying on the ground.

The war soon ended and the people of Middle Earth rejoiced The ring of power had been destroyed and the evil that had threatened the way of life for everyone of Middle Earth was now gone.

Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli were walking across the battlefield helping the injured warriors.

"She was here," Legolas said as he turned to Aragorn. "Kathy was here, fighting."

Aragorn stopped and looked at Legolas. "You saw her? Are you sure?" He asked.

"Aye, it was her. I saw her fighting an Oriki. She was holding her own for a while, though if I had not interfered when I did she would have been killed." Legolas said as he pulled an arrow out of an Orc. "It has been too long since any of us have seen her. Let us hope that she made it out of the battle alive, so that we may see her again." Aragorn said.

"Too long," A voice called from behind them. All three men turned to find Kathy standing a few yards away. She looked horrible, she was leaning forward with one hand over her shoulder, you could clearly see that there was an arrow there. Her hair was tangled and matted to her face with sweat and blood. Her clothing was ripped and covered in blood and dirt. Kathy stood there looking at the three men. "Well?" She said, holding out one arm. The three men ran to her side, each taking their turn to hug her. Legolas looked her over. "It has been too long. We have missed you." He said as he looked at the arrow in her shoulder. "I know, I did not mean to stay away for so long. I was going to return over a year ago, but I found out that you all where off saving the world, and well, I couldn't let you do it without me." She said, as she was trying to hide the pain.

"Come, we must see to your injuries. We don't want you dying before we all get our chance to find out what you have been up to." Aragorn said as he held out his arm for Kathy. She took it with out a second thought and all three walked toward the city.


End file.
